Credit traders are multiplying, but credit trades are multiplying more
If you’re working on an American credit trading desk in a hedge fund or asset management firm these days, life might seem good, if a little busy. US debt issuance was up by 6% on the first quarter of last year, according to LSEG (formerly Refinitiv), and you’re eagerly anticipating them to increase even further. But are you working too hard?
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It’s a question worth asking. Data from market intelligence provider Crisil Coalition Greenwich noted that the average size of an American investment grade trading team grew from 3.2 to 3.4 people between 2024 and 2025, while the average size of an American high-yield trading team grew from 2.0 to 2.2 people. It interviewed 52 investment grade and 36 high-yield traders in American buy-side firms as part of its research.
That might not seem so bad, but it isn’t a positive indicator. Coalition Greenwich said that although credit traders grew in number by 6% on US investment grade desks and 10% on US high yield desks, the volume of trades rose by 22%. The implication is that each trader is working harder.
Or not. “Execution automation is the only explanation for the gap,” the firm concluded. It’s a fact that electronification had become more prevalent – the firm noted that 95% of US investment grade traders and 91% of US high-yield traders were trading at least some of their volume electronically.
That’s a reversal on what we’ve previously seen. We’ve called high-yield trading “the safest job in credit” as the sector continued to avoid electronification (it went from just 31% of volume to 33% of volume between 2022 and 2024), but if teams are growing slower than their volumes are, the electronification rate must be rising, too. Or credit traders are expected to work harder for their job.
Data from our Compensation & Lifestyle Report 2026 did not suggest that, however. Credit sales & trading professionals in our survey reported working 50 hours a week in 2024, and 50 hours a week in 2025. As their bonuses went up by 28% on average in the same period, the only logical deduction is that they automated more of their trading than ever.
The electronification trend is odd. As we’ve noted before, electronification systems for products like high-yield credit break down when volatility increases and liquidity drops. But the VIX (which measures stock market volatility) was higher on average in Q1 of 2026 (when it was 20.43 on average) than it was in Q1 of 2025 (when it was 18.52 on average).
Maybe automation has just gotten better.
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